Rosemary D’Souza

We Spent An Afternoon With An Amazing Piano Teacher In Mumbai: Listen To The Audio Clip Here

Shortcut

A gleaming black piano and its animated player, both enthrall and entertain us on an ordinary November day. Here’s our tale of our afternoon well spent with a piano teacher in Bandra.

Black Or White

First a quick trot on the keys, then a waltz, some times a jive, it seems as though Rosemary D’Souza’s fingers are doing a quick dance on the piano – with no audience needed. Sitting in her beautiful home facing Bandstand, we listen to her move effortlessly from Chopin to Pehla Nasha, from scales that she teaches beginners to the theme music of The Godfather.

What's Her Story?

Rosemary has been learning to navigate her way around the piano since she was only 5, where she was taught in a Goan convent by a rather strict nun. She grew up to love the instrument, and has been playing it no matter where she went. From learning to play Portuguese music in Goa to accompanying a violinist in Mumbai, and travelling to London and Dubai, her upright piano has always accompanied her.

In between sipping a soft drink, and admiring the magnificent sea view from her house, we ask Rosemary about her story with the piano. She lights up whenever she talks about music, even telling us about how the piano is the metaphor for life. The white keys may represent happiness, the black, sadness, but put them both together and you get beautiful music.

If there’s one shop she’d recommend visiting for instruments in Mumbai, it would have to be Furtados for the sheer variety of instruments and support the shop offers.

How Do We Join?

She’s open to taking new students of all age groups here and takes classes in both western classical and modern music once a week for an hour. The fee is INR 700-800 for a class.

The requirement? That you have either a keyboard or piano at home, and a love for music. Rosemary will take it on after that.